Rondi, Emanuela and De Massis, Alfredo and Jack, Sarah (2016) Toward a process model of resource orchestration : social capital and qualitative study in family firm innovation. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.
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Abstract
This thesis explores how firms and organisational actors implement the resource orchestration process. Resources are deemed drivers of value creation and interest is growing in the actions that executives take to manage resources. However, empirical research in this area is limited to the analysis of organisational performance while the process of orchestrating resources over time is under-investigated. This thesis includes four theory-building articles and embraces a process thinking approach to provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the dynamics underlying resource orchestration. The 18-month empirical investigation took place in a textile district in Northern Italy using ethnographic techniques and multiple-case studies to identify the patterns and processes that resource orchestration entails. Through specific qualitative techniques, the empirical inquiry generated data on the mechanisms that organisational actors employ in activating their social capital, reactivating latent ties and orchestrating resources. To analyse the resource orchestration phenomenon, 67 open-ended interviews were triangulated with 25 non-participatory observations and 500 archival documents. The findings from this research make three significant contributions to the field of resource orchestration and social capital. First, the study demonstrates the potential of the process thinking approach to investigate a broad range of organisational phenomena involving change. Second, by developing social capital and resource orchestration process models, the thesis contributes to literature by providing more nuanced frameworks of the resource orchestration practices and processes. Finally, the study sheds light on the role of time in shaping relationships and the dynamics of latent ties. The results of this study may assist policy makers, practitioners and consultants in considering the critical impact of resource orchestration processes, social capital and the underlying temporal dynamics.